Red Gold
by Harmony21
Summary: Artha and Beau are attacked by Moordryd during a race.  If they can't be saved, they'll die.  It's up to Connor, and a woman named Taysan Spanwatch to keep them alive.
1. Chapter 1

*Taysan — and Cynder (not mentioned here) — do not belong to the creators of Dragon Booster*

Footsteps echoed on the floor as Moordryd Paynn entered the control room of his father's citadel.

"You sent for me?"

As usual, Word Paynn was at his computers, caught up in his schemes. He smiled at the sound of his son's voice. "I have something for you," he said, his voice malicious.

He pressed a button, and with a swoosh, a hidden compartment opened in the wall to reveal gleaming black gear.

"Level six draining gear. Tomorrow's race is the last one before the Academy Series, Moordryd."

Moordryd knew what his father was getting at. "What about the gear I've already got?"

"Never mind that," said Word with a dismissive wave. "This is much more powerful and it's been modified to work much faster. Now take it and go!"

Moordryd took the gear and left without a word, his thoughts whirling.

Artha sighed as he and Beau made their way to the starting gate for the All City Final. He knew he could win, he was just a few points behind Moordryd after all. How hard could it be to beat him? They fought often enough during races and just about anything was allowed.

Artha checked out the other racers, getting a sense of what he needed to watch for. He noticed Moordryd had some new gear, but since he always had something new, he didn't pay it much attention.

As they settled into their places, Artha glanced up into the stands. He smiled when he spotted his dad Connor, his brother Lance, and Parmon, his best friend.

Kitt Wonn was a friend too, but since she and her dragon, Wyldfyr were in the race, she was in the next lane. Sensing his gaze, she looked over and smiled.

"Good luck Artha," she said.

"You too Kitt." The barriers began to lower. "See you on the other side!" he called as Beau took off.

The races never really got serious until after the first rider fell, and sure enough, five minutes in, Wulph fell victim to Khatah and was ejected from his dragon.

Artha and Beau managed to hold their ground until at last it was just them, Moordryd and Kitt.

Moordryd wasted no time. Ignoring Kitt — who blazed on ahead, to a win no doubt — he came up alongside Beau and made to hit Artha with his blocking staff.

Beau quickly magged Artha into the air, and Artha managed to deflect Moordryd's hit with one of his own.

Moordryd pretended to growl anger as he settled back into his saddle and retracted his stick. He wanted Penn to have his guard down when he attacked again.

"Decepshun, ready the gear!" He channeled his Shadow Booster power. "Now!"

At the same moment Decepshun powered up the new gear, he unleashed a mag-rip . . . straight at Beau.

He didn't need a draining whip for this. His satisfaction grew as dragon and rider screamed and fell.

Beau crashed into the side of the track, slamming Artha heavily against the barrier; Beau tried to move away from the railing, but he was too weak; Artha hung motionless from the saddle, unconscious and upside down.

Laughing triumphantly, Moordryd cut his power and without looking back, made for the finish.

The remaining dragons crossed the finish line. Everyone waited, but when it became apparent that Artha and Beau weren't coming, people began to get anxious.

The Penn crew were grouped near the finish line, Kitt clutching her trophy. After ten minutes, she'd had enough.

"I'm going to scour the track," she said and took off.

"Kitt, no!" said Parmon , but she ignored him.

Connor appeared on her vidlink. "Kitt, get back here!" he said, his voice stern. "The race officials will deal with this."

"Artha's my friend, Mr Penn," she replied, her voice polite but firm. "I don't care if I'm out there for hours, I'm going to find him!"

Despite having just raced, Kitt was true to her word. She went over every inch of the track, growing more frantic with each second.

Ten minutes, fifteen . . . she had no idea how long she looked.

As she rounded the turn of the Drag-Eye, she let out a little scream. The rest of the crew were on her link within two heartbeats.

"What is it?" Connor asked, his face taut with worry.

"I found him," she whispered, her voice so soft she could barely hear it. "I — they look really bad."

"Where are you?" said Connor.

"T-the Drag-Eye."

"Stay there, we're coming."

Kitt hopped off Wyldfyr and slowly the approached the downed pair. Artha was unconscious, and barely breathing. Beau was crumpled against the barrier.

Kitt was usually strong, but seeing her friend like this . . . crumpled and all but lifeless, she couldn't help it. She began to cry.

She remembered what Artha had once told her about him and Beau when they'd encountered Propheci the third time around; the time, as the Dragon Booster, he'd nearly had his life drained from him by the Shadow Booster: '_our energy's more tied together than ever.'_

"Oh Artha," she whispered.

She was so distraught, she didn't remember the crew's arrival or the shouts of race officials as they arrived on the scene.

Connor took Kitt aside and the group returned to the the Penn tent beyond the track.

All they could do was wait, while medical personnel worked on the pair. At last, a young man with red and black hair and wearing hospital garb pulled back the tent flap.

"Connor Penn?" His voice was grim.

Connor left the tent. "What did they say?" he asked, his voice low and anxious.

The man sighed heavily. "His dragon's fine, just stunned, but your son . . . they don't know yet."

He indicated a woman standing near the tent. She was tall and didn't seem like the racing type. Connor didn't recognize her and, considering how beautiful she was, he thought, he should have.

She wasn't wearing racing gear or medical garb, he realized. Just street clothes.

"Mr Penn, this is my friend Taysan Spanwatch of Grandora—Spanwatch."

"The research company?" There was no ignoring the suspicion in Connor's tone.

"Yes," said Taysan. "My father's head of the company. We saw a case similar to this a few years ago. I'd like to see if I can help."

"I don't want your help. All I want is for someone to tell me what's wrong with Artha." He turned to go back into the tent.

"Mr Penn, the attack on your son was very powerful," Taysan said softly. "Beau may be fine, but Artha will die you don't let me help."

Her voice was not forceful, but it was authoritative enough to stop Connor. He turned around and glared at her.

"What can you do that you could possibly fix him? What do you want with my son?"

Taysan placed a hand on his arm. Connor gasped; in his mind's eye, he could see what had happened with her previous case. It tore at him; like Beau, the dragon had been fine at first, but his rider . . .

No way, he was not letting that happen. After a moment, the image faded and she let go of him.

"Please," was all she said.

Connor sighed. "Very well. But if anything goes wrong, I'm suing you."

"Fair enough, Mr Penn," Taysan said. "We need to return them to the stables."

"Why?" Connor frowned. "Why not do it here?"

"Too many people and it would be better for them to be somewhere familiar."

Connor stuck his head back into the tent, where Parmon was trying to console an upset Kitt. "Pack up, we're returning to the stables."

They didn't argue. Between bouts of tears, Kitt was able to help. When they got back to the stables, Connor gently suggested to Kitt that she go lay down.

She did so without protest.

Taysan meanwhile, was out in the stable yard, supervising the arrival of the medical rig. Beau was placed in his stall, while Artha was carried into the house and laid on a bed.

After a few minutes, Taysan came into the house.

"Go see to Beau," she told Connor and her voice brooked no argument. "He should be fine with food and rest. I must do this alone. I'll let you know when you can come see him."

The men who'd come with her followed Connor out.

Taysan gazed for a few moments at the fallen teenager, her last case on her mind. She'd been unable to save the rider; he had been so far gone, nothing could be done.

After his death, his dragon had become depressed and had stopped eating. He'd died a month to the day his rider had.

This time, she wasn't going to fail. She knew full well about the Dragon Prophecy. She wasn't going to disappoint anyone by letting the Dragon Booster die.

Crouching down, she laid her hands on Artha's chest and gathered her energy. This had to work, it just had to.

If it didn't, she was going to have another death on her conscious.

Artha didn't scare easily, but his current situation had him feeling like Parmon.

His senses were working, but he felt so weak, he couldn't move. He'd once been the victim of a pod attack that froze its target, but this was much worse.

The last thing he remembered was being on the track with Moordryd.

There'd been the extreme pain and then . . . nothing. Until now.

He tried screaming for Beau, but nothing happened.

Our energy is tied, he thought. He should be able to hear me.

But calling for him didn't work.

Artha was about to give up when he sensed someone was nearby. It was a woman, a beautiful woman, but not one he recognized.

She put her hands on his body and a strange warmth engulfed him. Within a few minutes, he was able to move although he was still very weak.

He managed to sit up, and slumped against the wall.

The woman smiled. "Your father was worried sick about you," she said, her voice warm. "He was recluctant to accept my help, but I told him you'd have died if I didn't."

"What did you do?" he managed to ask.

"I restored your energy by countering-attacking the mag-rip. You were lucky; it could have been much worse. Don't worry, your dragon's fine. He's just a little stunned."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Her sudden grin was startling. "Your strength will return to you in full, Dragon Booster," she said with a wink. "I like to think that's what saved you."

"You — you know I'm the Dragon Booster?"

"Of course. My father was once a member of the Dragon priesthood. He took what he learned and applied it to training and healing techniques. We knew about the prophecy and the coming of the Booster and the gold dragon."

Artha couldn't believe what he was hearing. He pushed away from the wall and made for the door, but staggered a bit. Taysan was there, holding him up.

The energy was warming him again; she was returning his strength to him. As it flowed over him, he looked out the window, in the direction of Beau's stall.

At last, Artha managed to stand on his own. "Thank you," he said.

Taysan smiled. "You're welcome young Penn." She winked again. "My name is Taysan Spanwatch. Call for me if you ever need help again." With a final nod, she left the room.

"Artha!" Lance came barreling in, closely followed by Kitt, Parm and his father.

"We were worried about you!" Kitt wailed. "Are you alright?"

"I am now," Artha said, looking around at them. "I can't explain what happened, but yes Kitt, I'm OK. How's Beau?" he asked his dad.

Connor smiled. "He's doing fine. Still a little tired, but he'll find his feet soon enough."

"Good," said Parm, his scanner in his hand. "Because you two have a race on Tuesday!"

Artha laughed. "I can't wait to see the look on Moordryd's face!"

"What! The stable brat?"

Moordryd couldn't believe his eyes when he entered the starting gate for the first Academy race on Tuesday afternoon. Penn was alive!

What was he going to tell his father? He'd be in so much trouble if he ever found out . . .


	2. Chapter 2

_Several months after he first met Taysan Spanwatch, Artha encounters her again, and this time, she's accompanied by a strange dragon._

"Hurry up Cain!" said Moordryd irritably as they loaded dragons into a wagon. "Before Security shows up!"

"Oh you don't have to wait for Security," said a voice and Moordryd flinched.

It was the Dragon Booster. Again.

"Stay out of our business, hero!" Moordryd snarled, abandoning the stolen dragons and leaping onto Decepshun, intent on getting away.

"Everything you do is my business," Dragon Booster said.

"Put the prong away, Paynn," said a female voice. "Before you get fried."

The Dragon Eyes turned with a gasp. A woman was approaching them from behind, astride a dragon like nothing they'd ever seen. Moordryd couldn't discern the class, but it was a sleek, golden-red quadruped that had black eyes and black, gold-tipped spikes on its nose.

In fact, the dragon's colour was so vibrant, it appeared to glow.

Moordryd decided then and there that he wanted that dragon.

The woman was wearing a stylized black and gold helmet and her face couldn't be seen; only her cold silver eyes were visible.

"What are you doing here?" snarled Moordryd. He made to unleash a draining whip but the woman threw out an arm, and the whip's energy died in his hand.

"Huh? What the —"

"Cover your ears, Dragon Booster!" she called as her dragon opened his mouth.

The noise was deafening. It was more like a high-pitched shriek than a roar. After ten seconds, it stopped.

Moordryd and his crew turned tail. In seconds, they were gone.

The woman hopped off her dragon and released the captive dragons. To the shock of Dragon Booster, she piped to them in the same way he'd seen Beau talk to other dragons.

The stolen dragons ran off.

Dragon Booster frowned. "Do you know those dragons?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, they belong to my family."

"You saved me a fight tonight," said Dragon Booster gratefully. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said her voice warm and soothing. "Do you often encounter that yellow-bellied newt?"

The Booster sighed. "All the time."

The woman suddenly let out laugh. "You can take it off, Artha."

When he didn't move, she waved an arm and his amulet clicked off by itself.

"Huh? How did you —"

She finally removed her helmet and tossed it behind her. Her dragon caught it with a chirp.

Silver eyes, a blaze of black and silver hair . . . "Taysan!" Artha said happily.

She laughed again. "Hello Artha. Glad to see you're OK."

"How did you make the Dragon Eyes leave?"

She affectionately rubbed Beau's nose. He snorted. "Cynder's my dragon; he's different, like Beau. He's got a few quirks, one of which is the Breaking Shriek. He's a red and gold Bi-Class — two colour classes," she explained, at Artha's blank look.

"But, that's impossible!" Artha scoffed. "There's no such thing as a dragon with _two _colours! Breaking Shriek?"

"Yes. It's a deafening cry that can break glass and rupture eardrums — among other things — which is why I told you to cover your ears. Poor Moordryd, he's going to be hard of hearing for the next few hours. The only other way to guard against it is to wear these."

She produced half a dozen ear-shaped cotton covers from her pocket and, extracting a gold pair, handed them to Artha. "Safety for next time. Put them on, I'll show you how they work." She put her hair behind her ears.

He did so and Taysan gave Cynder the thumbs-up. His scream was indeed deafening, but all Artha could hear was a low growl.

The moment Cynder had opened his mouth, Taysan's red-gold covers had magically appeared on her own ears.

"See? They appear as soon as he opens his mouth and then, when it closes, they disappear."

"How?"

Taysan shrugged. "Dragon magic."

"What about Beau? Does he need them?"

Taysan shook her head. "Unless Cynder wants a dragon to hear the Shriek in full, they'll hear it as a hiss; it doesn't hurt them. I suggest you give covers to your friends, in case we happen to cross paths again."

Movement beyond her caught Artha's attention. "Trapping gear!"

He made to move but Taysan beat him to it. Dropping down, she threw her arms out and the gear vanished.

"Huh? How did you do that?"

She gave him a self-depricating grin. "I'm as strange as my dragon, Artha Penn." The sound of City Security sirens reached her ears. "You'd better become Dragon Booster again, sounds like trouble."

"I'm on it. See you around, Taysan. Release the Dragon!"

Taysan watched as Artha and Beau went down the alley toward the sirens. She looked at Cynder. "I wonder if I should have told him about your part boy. Nah, if would just make him think I'm crazy." She looked back at where they'd gone. "Until next time . . . Dragon Booster."


End file.
